Daniel Sweitzer Gillette

Class of 2003

Born August 30, 1957, in Pittsburgh, Dan graduated from Washington & Jefferson College in 1979 with a triple-major in economics, English and German.

Two days after graduation, he began his candy career as a salesman at Dan Gillette & Associates, calling on five candy and tobacco wholesalers by noon. Dan notes with pride that his grandfather and father were also candy salesmen.

In 1983, Dan was named Candy Representative of the Year by the Western Pennsylvania Tobacco Table. In 1990, he was named a Candy Ambassador by the National Candy Wholesalers Association. The same year he became a full partner and vice-president of the brokerage, now Bumer-Anderson-Gillette & Assoc., Inc., the position he currently holds.

Dan says the biggest factors in his success are his father, Daniel R. Gillette; his partners, Harry J. Anderson and Robert B. Bumer; and his grandfather, whose sales successes he heard about through his father and Stanley Marks.

Accentuating the positive is part of Dan’s philosophy, and he attributes his brokerage’s longevity to flexibility, focus and a personal touch.

He says: “My great uncle, Rufus Woods Gillette, Jr., once told me: ëYou can’t make a sale unless you throw your hat through the door.’ Relationships with buyers are built through personal appearances with presentations of live samples. They’re maintained through regularly scheduled appointments and sales presentations. Always make the appointment. There will always be something to sell.”

Dan served as a president of the Pittsburgh Candy Club.

Dan passed away on October 8, 2021.